Old Zhang was even happier than he was, his entire face lit up with a smile and even his tone was noticeably more cheerful than usual. “Although he lost a few points in Chinese, Madam and Master are both very satisfied. The school has already been chosen, a prestigious school where he can go straight from his undergraduate studies into a doctoral program. There’ll be no problem with him inheriting the company at eighteen.”
Lu Shiying, however, was not particularly happy.
As the sole heir to the Lu family, he had always been confident in his academic ability. He had known long ago that he would get good results, so when he heard the news, he merely set the tablet aside, turned around and went inside to eat.
Old Zhang scratched his head, completely unable to figure out what had upset him this time. He had come first in the entire country. There wasn’t a higher score than his this year.
Jiang Ci was lying on the floor, playing with the cat. The Maine Coon’s huge, fluffy paws kept patting the back of his hand.
Lu Shiying walked over, bent down and picked him up. “Wash your hands and eat.”
Jiang Ci tilted his little face up, only to see that gloomy expression again.
Brother was unhappy again.
After washing his two little hands, he toddled over and rummaged through the drawer beneath the dining table. He pulled out his bib and, with clumsy little movements, tried to tie it around his neck. Once he had finally secured it, he happily patted the tabletop. “Bibbib, eat!”
There was still a vague, indescribable knot of frustration weighing on Lu Shiying’s heart but the moment he saw his little brother’s happy expression, those troubles somehow seemed to scatter like a thin mist blown away by the wind, disappearing without a trace.
His laughter seemed to possess some strange kind of magic, as though it could drive every trace of gloom away.
Jiang Ci scooped up a spoonful of soup and slurped it down noisily. Then he blinked his eyes and asked, “Brother is in a bad mood today. Did you get a zero on your exam?”
“Cough, cough, cough- ”
Lu Shiying nearly choked on his food.
Getting a zero on the college entrance examination, just imagining such a thing was terrifying enough.
Seeing that he had spilled water all over the table, Jiang Ci burst into laughter, throwing himself backward with amusement. “Brother needs to wear a bib when he eats too! You got water on your sleeve!”
Lu Shiying wiped the water off the table, then reached out and pinched his round, chubby cheek. “You’re learning bad habits now? Other children don’t need to wear bibs when they’re three and you still have the nerve to laugh at me.”
The moment Jiang Ci heard that, he decisively tugged off his bib. “Then I won’t wear one either.”
He was extremely active and he liked shaking his legs while he ate, which meant bits of food often fell everywhere. Whenever he ate something delicious, his eyes would widen as he waved his hands around excitedly and whenever he drank soup, he still had a habit of letting it dribble from his chin, the liquid inevitably running down the corners of his mouth and into the collar of his clothes.
That was why Grandpa had kept a bib tied around him for years, just to avoid having to change his clothes three times during a single meal.
Lu Shiying was simultaneously amused and helpless at his antics. He added some more food to Jiang Ci’s bowl and asked, “Then tell me, how could you tell that your brother was in a bad mood?”
Jiang Ci poked his own cheek. “Your face gets all droopy and you frown.”
Lu Shiying did not answer.
Instead, he suddenly opened his arms, scooped the little boy up and placed him on his lap.
Some things were truly strange.
A five year old child could actually notice other people’s emotions, express concern for them and even clumsily try to think of ways to make someone else feel better.
His voice lowered, sounding almost as though he were speaking to himself. “Because when your brother was taking his exam, there was only one person there. Even though I came first, no one cared. That’s why I’m in a bad mood but none of these things should really matter to me in the first place and yet, I can’t help feeling that… something is missing.”
Lu Shiying had never told anyone these things before.
No one knew what he was thinking.
But in front of this little child, he felt that it did not really matter. The boy probably would not understand any of it anyway, so he casually said a few words. His tone remained flat, without much emotion.
First place.
Those were the only three words left in Jiang Ci’s mind.
Last year, he had also come first in the kindergarten drawing competition for handmade posters.
His father and mother had been overjoyed, taking him out to celebrate, treating him to cake and hamburgers and buying him toys. Would his brother’s parents not reward him too?
That really was sad.
“Forget it.” Lu Shiying pulled him a little closer into his arms. “Because of my identity, an exam like this is merely a formality. It never had any real meaning to begin with. Hurry up and eat.”
Jiang Ci’s eyes darted around as though he were thinking hard about something. He sat quietly in Lu Shiying’s arms and continued eating but his little mind was already turning things over and over.
…..
Night had fallen.
Outside the window, the cold wind came in increasingly fierce gusts and it looked as though rain would soon begin. The sky hung low and heavy, pressing down over everything, while the moon and stars had all disappeared behind the layers of clouds.
While Lu Shiying was taking a shower, Jiang Ci quietly slipped into the study. He took out a sheet of white paper and a colored marker, then carried his little stool all the way to the living room. Climbing onto the sofa, he sprawled there and began drawing.
Auntie Chen was just about to come over and drape a coat over him when Jiang Ci suddenly threw half his body over the paper, covering it completely. He shouted in a flustered voice, “Ah! Auntie, you’re not allowed to look!”
Auntie Chen froze for a moment before smiling. “All right, all right, I won’t look. What is the Young Master doing? The temperature has dropped today and there’s going to be a heavy rainstorm. Put on some more clothes and go play in your room.”
“It’s okay! I’ll go warm myself by the heater.”
Jiang Ci clutched the paper and marker tightly and scurried away as sneakily as a little thief.
Lu Shiying spent half an hour in the shower before coming out, only to discover that no one was in the bedroom.
He searched around for a while and in the end, he found Jiang Ci tucked away in a corner of the second floor guest bedroom.
The little boy was crouched beside the cabinet in a tiny, round little bundle, his back turned toward the doorway. No one could tell what exactly he was busy fiddling with.
Lu Shiying walked over. Before he even had time to announce his presence, he reached out and poked the child lightly in the back.
Jiang Ci was so startled that his entire body jerked backward and he let out a shriek.
Lu Shiying reacted quickly and caught him just in time, preventing him from falling hard onto the floor.
The little boy’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest. He remained stunned for several seconds before his lips pulled downward and tears began to fall one after another.
“Sorry, sorry…” Lu Shiying hurriedly patted his back. “I was curious about what you were doing and forgot to call out to you first.”
Jiang Ci had been at the estate for so long yet he had hardly ever cried. He must have been genuinely frightened this time.
Jiang Ci wiped at his tears with both hands, then pounded his chubby little fists against Lu Shiying’s body. The blows did not hurt in the slightest but his shoulders trembled with every sob. “Bad brother… why did you scare Xiao Ci?”
Lu Shiying gently stroked his chest, able to feel the little one’s heartbeat racing wildly and irregularly beneath his palm. He coaxed him for quite a while, eventually gathering him into his arms and soothing him as though he were petting a cat. “I just wanted to see whether you were doing something naughty. You were hiding here because you felt guilty, weren’t you?”
“No, I wasn’t!”
Jiang Ci pushed him away. “Wait outside. I have something to give you later.”
Hearing that, Lu Shiying walked over to the doorway.
Jiang Ci immediately curled back into his corner and furtively began moving his marker across the sheet of paper, scratching and scribbling away as though he were carrying out some highly secretive operation.
After nearly an hour of tinkering around, he finally finished his masterpiece.
He ran out in high spirits, so excited that when he reached the doorway, his foot slipped beneath him.
Thump!
He fell flat onto the floor.
“Ah woo.”
The moment Lu Shiying heard the noise, he hurried over. “How many times have I told you? Don’t run around like that.”
He helped the little boy back onto his feet. Jiang Ci was as clumsy and careless as ever but surprisingly, he did not cry after falling.
This child was like a dud firecracker, he could fall hard and still make almost no noise.
There was only a red patch on his forehead where he had knocked it. His skin was far too tender.
Lu Shiying gently rubbed the reddened spot, then gathered him up into his arms and went to look for the medicine box.
But Jiang Ci stretched out his little hand instead, holding the drawing in his palm.
His eyes were bright as he looked at his brother.
“Brother came first in the exam. This is your present.”
Lu Shiying froze.
In that instant, it felt as though something had suddenly clenched tightly around his heart. He lowered his head and looked at the sheet of white paper. It was a drawing made with colored markers.
Jiang Ci’s drawing skills were actually this good?
A kindergarten child had somehow drawn something that was already at the level of an elementary school student.
The boy in a school uniform was drawn with surprising precision, standing upright and proper as he held up a golden trophy in his hands. Beside him was a crookedly drawn thumbs up, which probably meant, “You’re the best.”
Another little figure stood beside the boy, holding out a bouquet of flowers toward him.
In the lower right corner of the drawing were four words. The strokes were childish and clumsy yet each one had clearly been written with great care:
Brother is the best.
These were probably characters Jiang Ci had only recently learned yet he had written them down for him.
“This… you drew this?” Lu Shiying stared at him, his voice slightly hoarse. “You’re really good at drawing?”
Jiang Ci nodded vigorously and explained with utmost seriousness, “Mommy enrolled Xiao Ci in a drawing class. I started learning when I was three. I come in first every time I draw! The teacher said trophies are the most amazing, so I drew one for Brother because Xiao Ci doesn’t have money to buy a real trophy… When Mommy comes back…”
As he reached this point, tears began to well up in his eyes again. He raised his little face, his voice soft and delicate.
“Will the stars come back again?”
Lu Shiying was stunned for a moment before gently pulling him into his arms.
Perhaps in many people’s lives, there would eventually appear someone who was of extraordinary importance to them.
And at this very moment, he was absolutely certain that such a person had appeared in his life.
His father had so many friends around him and had also known many younger boys yet there had been very few whom Lu Shiying actually liked or found pleasing to be around.
But Jiang Ci was different.
His appearance in Lu Shiying’s life felt like a special kind of fate.
He had lived for fourteen years and the first gift he had ever received had actually come from a kindergarten child.
“Brother… I can’t breathe anymore…” Jiang Ci pushed against him, unable to understand why Lu Shiying had suddenly hugged him so tightly.
Lu Shiying came back to himself and loosened his arms. He leaned down and gently kissed the little boy on the cheek.
Jiang Ci’s ears gave a tiny twitch.
He looked up at him.
This was the first time Brother had ever kissed him on the cheek.
“Thank you, Xiao Ci.” Lu Shiying’s voice was very soft but every word was spoken with complete seriousness. “Perhaps Daddy and Mommy won’t come back but Brother promises that whatever love and care they were supposed to give you, I will give it to you. I’ll let you grow up without a single worry and I’ll give you a life of fine clothes and delicious food. How about that?”
Jiang Ci’s lips trembled and turned downward. The sadness of losing his parents surged up inside him once more and he asked uneasily, “Then… will Brother become a star someday too?”
Lu Shiying held his little hand and pressed it gently against his own cheek. The soft, chubby touch was warm against his skin.
“No. Brother will stay by your side forever.”
“Okay! Pinky promise!”
Jiang Ci held out his little pinky.
For a moment, Lu Shiying did not understand what he meant. It was only after the little boy hooked his finger around his and gave it a little shake that he finally realized this was a promise children made to one another.
“Once we make a pinky promise, you’re not allowed to take it back.”
The corners of Lu Shiying’s lips curved upward.
“Okay.”
……
One year later.
The amusement park that had been rebuilt from the horse riding grounds behind the Lu family estate was officially completed.
After ventilation and the installation of all necessary facilities had been completed, the entire place became Jiang Ci’s very own private playground.
The amusement park that had been rebuilt from the horse riding grounds behind the Lu family estate was officially completed. After two full months of ventilation, with all the facilities installed and everything finally in place, it became Jiang Ci’s very own private little world. Lu Shiying was not at ease with letting him play outside, so he had simply had an amusement park built at home.
The moment the red cloth was pulled away, Jiang Ci froze.
A Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a carousel, bumper cars, a water park…
Colorful amusement facilities stretched across his entire field of vision, filling the space with dazzling colors. Right in the middle stood a gigantic, brightly colored inflatable ball, swaying gently as the wind moved it.
He turned his head toward Lu Shiying, his little face filled with confusion.
“…Brother, is this all for me to play with by myself?”
“Mm.” Lu Shiying lowered his eyes to look at him, his tone casual. “It’s not safe outside. Here at home, you can play however you want.”
“Thank you, Brother.”
Jiang Ci ran over and planted a kiss on Lu Shiying’s cheek.
“Brother is the best in the whole world. Xiao Ci loves you so much.”
Lu Shiying picked him up and carried him farther into the amusement park as he said, “Then you’ll have to be a good boy from now on. No going against me.”
Jiang Ci immediately took off running toward the bumper car arena. He climbed into a bright red little car and skillfully fastened the specially designed safety belt. The wide, sturdy straps held his entire body securely against the seat. The speed had been adjusted to remain gentle and the steering was easy to control, the whole car had been specially designed and customized just for him.
He turned the steering wheel.
The little car slowly made a circle and Jiang Ci immediately broke into a string of delighted giggles.
Lu Shiying stood at the entrance and watched for a while.
The little boy drove around the arena, bumping into things here and there, his bright laughter crisp and clear, like the cheerful chirping of a little bird.
After watching him for a while, the tension at the corners of Lu Shiying’s lips finally eased.
“Auntie Chen, stay with Xiao Ci and play with him. Be careful and make sure he stays safe. I have to go to the company for a while.”
Auntie Chen answered, “All right.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
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← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Even He, an outsider, couldn’t stand itChapter 2 · DaddyChapter 3 · Thank you for the gift!Chapter 4 · Do You want to sleep with your brother?Chapter 5 · Smart BabyChapter 6 · Life in a Wealthy FamilyChapter 7 · Genius BrotherChapter 8 · Brother’s giftChapter 9 · Xiao Ci was injured.Chapter 10 · ThoughtfulChapter 11 · Treat as treasureChapter 12 · Only recognized oneChapter 13 · Lu family coupleChapter 14 · A closed heartChapter 15 · Understanding my brotherChapter 16 · Reluctant to hitChapter 17 · UneasyChapter 18 · PossessiveChapter 19 · Teenage RebelChapter 20 Part 1 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 2 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 3 · The car accidentChapter 21 · My heart is racingChapter 22 · Physiological Knowledge